These 13 States Will Have Officially Banned Abortion Within the Next 30 Days

Christen A. Johnson
·4 min read
2

The Supreme Court officially overturned Roe v. Wade last week, the 1973 landmark case that made the right to choose to have an abortion protected and legal. Now, Roe is no longer the law of the land, and instead, individual states are allowed to impose their own legislation around the medical procedure.

There are 13 states already positioned to do just that. These states have “trigger laws,” meaning that as soon as Roe was overturned, their new abortion legislation was able to take effect almost immediately. Each state’s timeline and process varies—some laws are already in place and others can take a few weeks—but within 30 days, all 13 states will have officially banned abortion and instituted hefty legal penalties for both those who perform and receive the medical procedure.

In these states, the penalties for performing, or attempting to perform, an abortion are steep. Punishment is specific to each state, but for the most part, the consequences include a combination of felony charges, imprisonment between 2 to 14 years, medical professionals having their licenses suspended and revoked, and up to $100,000 in fines, according to Guttmacher Institute.

Below, find out which states have trigger laws, when those laws go into effect, and under what circumstances a state will make an exception for a legal abortion.

States with abortion bans that went into effect immediately after Roe was overturned

  • Kentucky

  • Louisiana

  • South Dakota

In Louisiana and South Dakota, the only exception to an abortion being permitted is if the pregnant person’s life is at risk. Kentucky also includes this, as well as if a doctor accidentally performs a separate medical procedure that ends the pregnancy by accident, reported Guttmacher.

States with abortion bans in place 30 days after Roe is overturned

  • Idaho

  • Tennessee

  • Texas

Thirty days from today, these states will officially have complete bans on abortion without any further action from a state official to put it in place. For both Tennessee and Texas, the only exception to have a legal abortion is, again, if the pregnant person’s life is in danger or there is a risk of permanent damage to their body.

For Idaho, the exception stems a bit further, including both incest and rape as justifiable for abortion—but only if the instances are reported to police.

States that need an official to enact the ban into law

  • Arkansas

  • Mississippi

  • Missouri

  • North Dakota

  • Oklahoma

  • Utah

  • Wyoming

In these states, an official (think governor or attorney general) has to actively certify the ban into law. For some states, this process is expeditious, and the laws go into effect nearly immediately, taking place just a few minutes after Roe was overturned. Others can take up to a few days or weeks. Here's the timeline for each state:

The attorney generals in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma each certified their states individual bans on Friday, effectively outlawing abortion that day.

Even though Utah certified its trigger law on Friday and effectively banned abortion, the state is allowing abortions as they were pre-Roe reversal for at least the next 14 days since a judge blocked the law due to a restraining order in place by Planned Parenthood of Utah.

Wyoming's trigger law will go into effect and ban abortion five days after the governor certifies the law. He has not yet, but has 30 days to do so.

Abortions in Mississippi and North Dakota are illegal starting July 7 and July 28, respectively.

For most of these states, the only exception to the law is if the pregnant person’s life is at risk. In Mississippi and North Dakota, incest and rape are also exceptions, but the caveat is the traumatic event has to be reported to authorities. If not, the abortion is not considered legal. Wyoming does not include the stipulation of having to inform police if a pregnancy was the result of rape or incest. In addition to those exceptions, Utah also includes “lethal fetal abnormality” for a legal abortion, according to Guttmacher Institute.

In conclusion, these states have already outlawed abortion completely

As of June 28, a pregnant person cannot receive an abortion in the following states:

  • Kentucky

  • Louisiana

  • South Dakota

  • Arkansas

  • Missouri

  • Oklahoma

If you want to channel any or all of your emotions into action, donate to the abortion funds in these states to help the residents there who need abortion care:

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